Interview with The Jezabels

We’ve been lucky to get chatty with Sam Lockwood fromThe Jezabelson their new album, coming home …. and Freddie Prince Jnr (of course). We thought it was only fitting as the band are returning home, and will be detonating their explosive sounds atThe Nothernon Wednesday October the 12th… Which is SOLD OUT!

Hey ! thanks so much for chatting with us….We know you are busy, bees! You’ve been touring the U.K now that your first Album Prisoner has been “let loose”… How has the reception been for you guys so far over there?

The response has been great over here. It is pretty amazing to be able to play to people on the other side of the world. The crowds have been great and we’ve done a few sold out shows so what more can you ask for? It is great to think that your music isn’t totally restricted to the place you come from. We have people from France, Germany coming up to us in basic English trying to communicate that they like our music. That is amazing.

What has been your most exciting or surprising U.K gig so far?

Our Glasgow show was incredible. It was sold out which is always a good ingredient for a nice show. The crowds in Glasgow are notorious for being a loud audience, and they were.

You guys left Byron in 2006 and headed down to Sydney town to give a the music industry a good crack – (and crack it did!) How have your individual dynamics within the band, made it possible to discover the crucial composition (be it chemical, magical, or primal) that have brought you to this point in your musical direction?

It was all fortuitous I believe, as this was the first try we all had at being in a ‘serious’ band. We have slowly ironed out the relationship difficulties that arise from being so close to each other all the time, but that’s all good. I actually think centrally that a band needs to get along ok to begin with. If that isn’t there it won’t last. Maybe the central ingredient in our chemistry is our patience with one another?

Prisoner has been getting rave reviews! (I’ve had it on constant repeat) With track titles that conjure images of David Lynch films and songs that bring to mind windy prairies, as they swoop from intense and seductive to spine tingling crescendos…How much of your own personal emotion and experiences were poured into the writing of the album?

It’s pretty much a result of what we’ve been doing. I know that Hayley has included a lot of thematic content in her lyrics that relate to life touring and being distant from a normal life. I guess we go pretty far in exploring musical dynamics on the album, and I think that touching on the life of a touring band is what gave us the freedom to explore such things.

Upon return home, in October you swing straight into a National tour on which you’ll be playing your old haunt The Northern (Wednesday October the 12th) We are so VERY excited to see you guys back here! What’s the best thing about returning home after playing overseas tours?

Everything! To tour overseas is quite stressful because you are always tired as a result of jet lag, and the alien nature of the places you visit can become overwhelming after a while. So we are so excited to come back to Australia! Especially to The Northern, as that is as close to home as Heather, Hayley and I can get.

If you all weren’t (incredibly) musically talented – what would be your alternative creative path?

We talk about how between the four of us we could open up a highschool. I think there may have been other creative avenues for us to take, however I think we were all heading towards instruction!!!

Who were your teen heart throbs?

We have/had a collective admiration for Freddie Prince Jr. He is/was a beautiful man!

Very first things you’ll do when you arrive back to Byron?

Go home to Possum Creek and see my parents. Possum Creek is the best place in the world.Thanks for chatting with Common Ground, Look forward to seeing you back in the Bay!!

Claire lives in the Bay and gets up to all sorts of artistic shenanigans.
After completing a Bachelor of Fine Art, Claire Snel loves to "get messy" in her home studio, and is one half of The Spooning Society - a local design/arts duo.
Not one to commit to a single creative outlet, Claire also contributes to Common Ground... So we consider ourselves very lucky to have her.

Common Ground Australia was founded in Byron Bay in 2010, owned and operated by Byron Bay locals Johnny Abegg, Tim Manton, Dave Keam, Kirra Pendergast, and Tommy Leitch who share a passion for film, photography, music and their Community. CG have an emphasis on “Creative Community Content” based on inspirational short stories, photo’s, film and music that explore and highlight ‘s the passion of people living within our community.
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